Autodesk 2008 Annual Report Download - page 41

At its June 2007 meeting, the Compensation Committee reviewed the factors discussed above and awarded
options to the Named Executive Officers based on individual performance and grant values of our peer group for
comparable executives. Please see “Executive Compensation—Grants of Plan-Based Awards in Fiscal 2008,”
below for grants made to our Named Executive Officers during our 2008 fiscal year.
Although long term incentives through equity awards represented a significant portion of our Named
Executive Officers’ total 2008 fiscal year compensation, it represents a variable component of compensation for
which full value may not be realized due to stock market conditions, availability of trading windows, vesting
conditions, expiration of the awards and the like.
Please see further discussion on page 29 regarding our equity plans and practices.
Pay Mix
Because we want our executives focused on achieving superior annual and long-term performance, we have
structured our executives’ compensation mix so that the majority of their compensation is contingent on
achieving or surpassing our annual goals and achieving superior returns for our stockholders.
Total Annual Cash Compensation
The ratio of fixed base salary and target incentive pay components reflects the strong importance that we
place on superior performance and achievement. Each of our Named Executive Officers has approximately one
half of his or her annual cash compensation contingent on corporate, divisional and individual performance. For
fiscal year 2008, the base pay and cash incentive components for our CEO were each approximately 50 percent
of targeted total cash compensation, reflecting a balance between a predictable income and performance related
compensation. For our other Named Executive Officers except our Executive Chairman, overall cash
compensation was slightly weighted in favor of base pay over cash incentives, reflecting a relative balance
between a predictable income and performance related compensation, taking into account the lower salaries paid
to our non-CEO executives. This mix between fixed base salary and cash incentives is comparable to that for
similar positions reviewed in our peer group.
Carol A. Bartz, our Executive Chairman, is paid a fixed base salary but no longer has a target incentive
component in her cash compensation since she moved to her current position as our Executive Chairman in fiscal
year 2007.
Equity Compensation
In addition, we want our executives focused on long term achievements that build value for our
stockholders. Consistent and prolonged appreciation of our stock price and the building of Company market
capitalization are key measures of success. We use stock option grants and other equity vehicles to align our
executives and their efforts with the goals and success of our stockholders. Because our executives and their
decisions and judgment are critical to our long term success, we align the majority of their overall compensation
with Company and stockholder value creation
For fiscal year 2008, the pay mix of our three components of compensation for the Named Executive
Officers is shown below. The pay mix shown below generally reflects our objective of providing a large portion
of our executive’s compensation through long term equity compensation. Naturally this mix varies depending on
a number of factors, including stock price changes, overall Company performance and individual performance.
Amounts in the table are based on what was paid or granted during fiscal year 2008. Base salary is the rate of
annual base salary. Short-term cash incentive is the actual EIP bonus payout. Equity incentive amounts represent
stock-based compensation expense recognized during the fiscal year for financial statement reporting purposes in
accordance with FAS 123(R), disregarding an estimate of forfeitures. These amounts do not necessarily
correspond to the actual value that will be realized by the Named Executive Officers upon exercise or sale of the
awards.
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